Blazers Defense Has Grown, Which Could Lead to Playoff Berth

If the Portland Trail Blazers are going to compete in the playoffs, they are going to do so with defense as the primary route to success.

The Blazers have a bottom-10 offense in the league, but their defense is around the middle of the pack. Bleacher Report writer Zach Buckley highlighted the team's defense and believes it can be used as a vehicle to get the team where it wants to go.

"The Trail Blazers, as currently constructed, are built to win with defense. They might have more paths to offensive victories next season when they hopefully have healthy versions of Damain [sic] Lillard and Shaedon Sharpe in the lineup, but the current rotation has a decidedly defensive feel," Buckley wrote.

"So, it must have been maddening when this group landed just 18th in pre-All-Star defensive efficiency. Just like it must be relieving (and still a little frustrating) to see this group rocket up to ninth in the category since. The personnel is all in place for Portland to have one of the better defenses in the Association, and that is, frankly, about the only way this club can hope to win consistently right now.

"What is happening, then? Is this the overdue formation of an identity, or are the Blazers simply capitalizing on a softer stretch of their schedule? If it's the latter, Portland has a chance to turn its Play-In invitation into a scrappy, competitive, defense-driven first-round series."

Blazers Defense Unlocks Potential Success

Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Should the Blazers get to the playoffs, they will find themselves in a very difficult first-round matchup against either the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs. Both of whom have one of the three best defenses in the league this season. Each team also has a top-10 offense which should challenge the Blazers tremendously in the first round.

In the playoffs, the pace of the game slows down tremendously, and that could help the Blazers, but it could also be a hindrance. The Blazers currently rank 7th in the NBA in terms of pace, meaning they are one of the faster teams in the league. Meanwhile, the Spurs rank 12th, and the Thunder rank 14th, which is right around the area you want to be in because you're not playing too fast and you're not playing too slow.

While the Blazers have been a better defensive team in the second half of the season, there's still a long way to go before they can be competing against some of the top teams in the NBA. This is all part of the growth experience. So, they will accept whatever opportunities they get as they will only learn more about themselves and where they need to go.